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Original poster

This is a terrible name for a parking app

34 replies

PolkaDotMankini · 10/04/2023 13:05

"Pay by phone". Ok, but how do I pay by phone? "Pay by phone".

It reads like a bad joke and is really confusing. I even have the app and this sign still confused me this morning. Heaven help you if don't know it's the name of an app and you want to pay by phone.

This is a terrible name for a parking app
OP posts:
Royalbloo · 10/04/2023 13:21

Surely there are additional signs explaining how? I've never been to a car park without one.

Mardiarse · 10/04/2023 13:25

There should be a phone number, don’t think ‘pay by phone’ is the name of the business.
if there are insufficient instructions, information to comply, then I would be using that as evidence in my reasons for not paying.

stbrandonsboat · 10/04/2023 13:26

Just Google it and it tells you what it is. You register your car and payment method on the app and away you go. It's easy. Even I can do it 😁

stbrandonsboat · 10/04/2023 13:27

There's always a PayByPhone poster attached to the parking machine telling you what to do.

canihaveacoffeeplease · 10/04/2023 13:34

I had no idea this was an app. I would be incredibly confused if there was no additional information!

Divorcedalongtime · 10/04/2023 13:36

It’s been around forever, can’t see how it’s that confusing tbh, I’ve had the app always, their logo is plastered all over the payment machines and it’s very clear it’s an app

blankittyblank · 10/04/2023 13:38

It's an app, but you can also 'pay by your phone' by using the phone number which will be on the ticket machine nearby. So it would be a confusing name it were just an app, but it's also a means to pay by dialling a number.

Comedycook · 10/04/2023 13:39

It's confusing imo....pay by phone sounds like a command not an app.

Mardiarse · 10/04/2023 13:41

Divorcedalongtime · 10/04/2023 13:36

It’s been around forever, can’t see how it’s that confusing tbh, I’ve had the app always, their logo is plastered all over the payment machines and it’s very clear it’s an app

I’ve never heard of them either. I guess it might depend where you live.
without further info and branding, showing the logo, it would be confusing.

SallySailor · 10/04/2023 13:42

Divorcedalongtime · 10/04/2023 13:36

It’s been around forever, can’t see how it’s that confusing tbh, I’ve had the app always, their logo is plastered all over the payment machines and it’s very clear it’s an app

Easy. Where I live pay by phone used to mean paying through a text message system. I have never been to a place that uses the paybyphone an I wouldn't have recognised that as an app, if there wasn't further explanation. Everywhere around where I live uses RinGo.

WishingMyLifeAway · 10/04/2023 13:42

The "Pay by Phone" on that sign isn't referring to the app name.

It means literally pay using your phone - either app or by calling the number or sometimes texting.

They'll be another sign somewhere else telling you how to do it and what numbers to call or text. Or what app to download.

The white signs all say "Pay by Phone" regardless of the name of the company they use.

JohnnyYenSetHimselfOnFireAgain · 10/04/2023 13:59

Surely if it was referring to the app it would say "PayByPhone app" rather than "pay by phone"?

Itstarts · 10/04/2023 14:00

Twice I've parked at a 'pay by phone' meter where there is absolutely zero phone/Internet data signal and no option to pay at the meter. That was rediculous.

Original poster
PolkaDotMankini · 10/04/2023 14:09

Mardiarse · 10/04/2023 13:25

There should be a phone number, don’t think ‘pay by phone’ is the name of the business.
if there are insufficient instructions, information to comply, then I would be using that as evidence in my reasons for not paying.

It absolutely is the name of the app. Circled in my pic attached. There's no phone number on the sign.

This is a terrible name for a parking app
OP posts:
Changingplace · 10/04/2023 14:12

Ridiculous, I absolutely hate bloody apps for parking it’s so unnecessary and a faff.

Mountainpika · 10/04/2023 14:13

Not everyone is au fait with all these apps and things. I certainly wouldn't have a clue. I have a mobile phone but rarely use it for anything.
And for those saying pay by phone has been around for ever - no it hasn't. Has only been around for a few of my 76 years.

Bingbangbongbash · 10/04/2023 14:14

The companies that councils use change occasionally, so that sign is just telling you that you can pay by phone, not specifying a provider. It would be a massive cost if they had to change all the signs if they moved from Pay By Phone to RingGo. There should always be a secondary sign that gives more information on the provider. If there isn’t, it has fallen off and you can report it.

It’s not that complicated.

FlibbertyGibbitt · 10/04/2023 14:15

Is it Ring Go?

Bingbangbongbash · 10/04/2023 14:15

Changingplace · 10/04/2023 14:12

Ridiculous, I absolutely hate bloody apps for parking it’s so unnecessary and a faff.

Entirely disagree. Finding several pounds in change is a massive faff, as is running back to extend the ticket instead of just buying more time through the app. I hate places that don’t offer payment by app.

FlibbertyGibbitt · 10/04/2023 14:16

Queen Margaret Drive Glasgow ?

BabaBooPuffinsRock · 10/04/2023 14:19

Divorcedalongtime · 10/04/2023 13:36

It’s been around forever, can’t see how it’s that confusing tbh, I’ve had the app always, their logo is plastered all over the payment machines and it’s very clear it’s an app

And those of us who recently came to this country don't know this. I've been wondering for months how to "pay by phone" with no phone number. Thankfully the OP started this thread. And like many people my phone is not set to download apps on mobile data so I'd need to do it before going out.

With the reams and reams of writing on parking machines with all the terms and conditions etc I don't have the time or brain-space to translate every word to work out how to "pay by phone" I look for an obvious number, and when one doesn't appear I pay by machine instead or have to find somewhere else to park if no machine is visible nearby.

Mochudubh · 10/04/2023 14:20

My workplace uses PaybyPhone. Their app isn't compatible with my relatively new, but very basic, smartphone so I need to log in to the website when I get in to the office. It's a pain in the arse, I much preferred it when we could buy a book of tickets to put in the windscreet.

Mochudubh · 10/04/2023 14:23

windscreen.

NeverDropYourMooncup · 10/04/2023 14:26

PolkaDotMankini · 10/04/2023 14:09

It absolutely is the name of the app. Circled in my pic attached. There's no phone number on the sign.

Show quote history

There may very well be an App with that name - but the sign isn't referring to the app, it's the standard legal format/wording for the parking sign (tickets can be overturned on appeal if a single letter or punctuation mark is out of place).

We have the same signs here and have done for many years, despite not using that app. The sign with the details of how to actually pay are at the machines instead.

nocoolnamesleft · 10/04/2023 14:27

I have several parking apps on my phone, but have never heard of that one and would have found it confusing.

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